Television viewing and other related forms of movie watching and video game playing through the use of external devices connected to a television has long been a source of entertainment for children and adults alike. However, over the course of a long period of advancement in television viewing, the problem has risen that too much time is spent watching or using the television for entertainment purposes by both children and adults.
Prior art patents do not address the real problem of how much time can be spent watching television, playing video games, or watching movies on a VCR. Some devices simply block out certain channels altogether.
Another feature of the prior art devices is that they disrupt the power signal directly to the television rather than disrupting the incoming television signal. Thus, state of the art televisions which provide clocks and timers would have to be reset each time the power is disabled.
The following prior art describes the ongoing efforts of others attempting to solve this long standing problem which has yet evaded solution, and these prior art citations are included to discharge applicant's acknowledged duty to disclose prior art with which he is familiar:
______________________________________ INVENTOR PATENT NO. ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ Jackson 4,081,754 March 28, 1978 French 4,219,693 August 25, 1980 DiLorenzo 4,317,213 February 23, 1982 Beier 4,348,696 September 7, 1982 Reidenouer 4,566,033 January 21, 1986 Scherer, et al. 4,567,516 January 28, 1986 Cairns 4,801,935 January 31, 1989 Olivo, Jr. 4,888,796 December 19, 1989 Vogel 4,930,158 May 29, 1990 ______________________________________
One of the main drawbacks of the prior art devices is that they interrupt the power to the television, i.e. outgoing power signal, rather than the RF, video game box, or other form of entertainment system attachable to a television set, i.e. incoming power signal.
For example, the patent to Reidenouer teaches the use of a regulator unit including a solid state timer activated by a reed switch. The unit is installed between the television receiver and a wall outlet. After a predetermined time period, the television receiver is turned off automatically so that viewing time can be controlled. The device is activated by the insertion of a metal token. This is one of the type of devices mentioned above which disrupts the internal clock of the television, VCR, etc. by interrupting the power.
The patent to DiLorenzo teaches the use of selectively hindering reception of regular program television broadcasts on a timed basis. The purpose of the device is to censor the broadcast rather than provide a specific allotment of time to a viewer. Further, the device is limited in that it has the ability to be attached to only one external appliance at a time.
A further deficiency in the prior art devices is that they do not allow for the programming of a pre-designated time for pre-designated users so that the pre-designated user is in control of the television and viewing allowance time. In the present invention the user is allowed to determine when and what shows will be watched, or when and what video games will be played. Stated alternatively, given an amount of time, the user determines how to best use it. Thus, a method is herein provided for learning how to budget one's time.